SELF-PUBLISHED AUTHOR FRIENDS
This *INSANE* email from Barnes & Noble WTF
—no more than 100 books and they start deleting??
—removing titles that don't meet minimum sales?
What the hell? I've been publishing since 2011... I have 145 titles.
AI deluge screwing us but still...it's war on indies.
the injury of indie authors being shoved off platforms because AI is sucking up all the storage space after the insult of those very works being stolen by AI corps to feed their slop machine
(D2D and B&N both)
ME TO B&N:
I've been publishing on Nook since 2011... I have 145 titles, a combination of novels, short stories, etc. So I'm pretty alarmed that you're suddenly limiting books to 100 titles. This is across two pennames. I am a prolific author. Is this new rule intended to drive prolific authors off your platform? I'm wondering if I should be publishing with B&N if you're going to start removing titles arbitrarily.
Please let me know how you will resolve this situation.
1/3
B&N REPLIES:
Hi Susan,
Wanted to reach out personally to assure you that this policy is not meant to drive authors like yourself–with career catalogs and pen names–from the site. We are really going after larger publishers and aggregators who bulk upload.
We intend to have exemptions and I have whitelisted your account so you can continue to publish uninterrupted.
I apologize for any confusion or worry.
Julie Braunschweiger
eCommerce Sr. Manager, B&N Press
2/3
@chantaryu2 I've written 5 novels in a year and they were high quality, thank you very much. Also it's "titles" so short stories, box sets, collections... I'm literally going to upload a 6-volume series of collected short stories that I've written over my entire career (plus new ones!) in the next few months.
Artificial limits like this just inhibit indie publishing creativity. And imagination.
AI slop uploading 200 titles on a single day is characteristically different.
@susankayequinn This almost makes sense... but it should be a "per period of time" measurement, and it should be manually reviewed instead of blanket banned.
Even a default approach of flagging unusually high volumes with an opportunity to explain/appeal/whatever is worlds better than a blanket ban. Make the outliers attest that they aren't using machine generation and blacklist them if they are shown to be lying 🙃
I just sent email to D2D about this. I find it especially galling that they are making those earning the least pay for those who make more money on their system.
Why not make it a subscription system if they need money so badly? That would be more honest.
I agree.
They should be ASHAMED.
I use them for everything except Amazon and Google Play Store. I was so happy they finally finagled that contract with Bookshop.org.
And now this. It's so depressing.
I use them for *everything* except Google and Amazon.
I *can* set up directly with Kobo and Tolino, but that's about it.
B&N demands a US checking account.
Apple demands a freaking Apple computer.
I *just* started using them for print through IngramSpark.
I am so freaking disappointed in Draft2Digital. I used to recommend them everywhere. I will no longer do that. (Yes, I told them that, too.)
@Firlefanz You should be able to go direct to IngramSpark (although I honestly don't know if it works for authors outside the US). B&N I understand -- they're a pain. Apple has long been that way, although I think there's a workaround now that doesn't require a Mac (I still use a Mac but I think the need for that went away a while ago): https://www.indiepublishinggroup.com/complete-guide-to-self-publishing-on-apple-books-for-authors/
(Kobo direct also allows you to apply for their promo and distribute to libraries)
Yeah. I actually do sell the odd book on B&N. *sigh*
Biggest sales channel on D2D for me is Apple.
It's very good to know that Kobo distributes to libraries, though, that might actually convince me to go direct with them.
Funny enough, Google Play Store is now doing best for me.
So for now, I'll probably grit my teeth and stay on D2D, but it's high time we Indies team up and build our own sales platform.
And then D2D can forget their business.
I started with them to list with Apple. I'd been direct with them until they changed their policy and insisted I had to post a webpage with my address and phone number. Wasn't going to post my real address so I had to pay for a UPS address twice a year to remain direct. Going through D2D bypasses that requirement. I do make sales on Apple. $12 a year is cheaper than what I was paying UPS. And you can't go direct with bookshop--I tried. 😌
@mwl I have already done so! But that's good to hear... but also not? What about the upcoming prolific authors? Maybe it won't have the impact on new authors (hello that could be their future revenue!) that the D2D stuff does, but what about minimum sales? How is an author supposed to get STARTED? Is it like some kind of Book Hunger Games now that if you don't make X sales (which of course they don't specify!) out of the gate, they'll pull your books!
It's just nuts.
(but thanks for the info!)
@susankayequinn I suspect retailers and aggregators will need to judge between AI and humans.
Which will end... poorly.
As a short-run strategy, the only thing I can think of as mitigation is what @mwl and some others are already doing: Diversify, build fans, sell directly whenever possible, encourage doing something other than exclusives with giant corps that don't have your interests in mind.
A creator's only safety lies in business disintermediation. Highly recommended.
And federation when it comes to online stuff. Yup.
"sane people wouldn't publish more than 100 books." 
writers: a notoriously sane bunch
self-published writers: writers but without the rules
@kaidenshi
IT.IS.INSANE
I halfway think this "new policy" was written by AI
Well that's Asimov's catalog fecked right to the curb.
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